Presidential assistant: 'chief of staff sees the big picture.

An effective campus presidential assistant (PA) must thrive in a role where everybody wants a piece of you. It means being able to manage stress, time, tasks, people and your environment, keeping in mind the big picture.

Although highly stressful, the job can also be highly rewarding. For Beth Brooks, PA at Colorado College, the best part is the chance to interact with every campus constituency from students and alumni to trustees and support staff. "There's also the excitement of never knowing what new issue might pop up at any time," she said.

Brooks, a PA for nearly four years, wished she could say gender is irrelevant in her field. Because the role of a PA is not well understood, she said, "I find it's a lot easier to tell people, 'I am the president's chief of staff,' since most can equate that with what they know of the U.S. presidency. I do that partly to make sure people do not think I am some sort of glorified secretary because I'm female. I don't think male PAs have to make that dear."

At the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education (NAPAHE) conference in February in Washington DC preceding the ACE Conference), Brooks and Michael McGreevey, a PA at Ithaca College NY, offered survival tips for PAs. Brooks spoke later with WIHE.

Managing in all directions

Because PAs interact with all kinds, they must be good people managers, managing up, around and down.

Up: the board of trustees, donors and VIPs. The needs of trustees and VIPs generally supercede those of all others, said Brooks. Managing up requires three ingredients: patience, political adroitness and subversion of ego/acceptance of your "behind the scenes" role.